Life-guard for cars



' No Model) 'A. E. WYATT. LIFE GUARD FOR CARS,

No. 535,436; Patented Mar. 12, 189.5;

WITNESSES: Y

mvamon g W l BY 611% 41/ ATTORNEYS;

WNITE il STATES ALBERT EDWARD WYATT, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

LIFE-GUARD FOR CARS.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 535,436, dated March 12,1 895.

Application filed December 17, 1894. Serial No. 532,024. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT EDWARD WY- ATT, a resident of Jersey City, Hudson county, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Guards for Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to life guards for cars, and has for its object to produce a device which will operate efficiently to pick up a person or other obstruction from in front of an advancing car and prevent injury to the person or to the car by reason of such obstruction.

To this end myinvention consists in the construction hereinafter set forth and claimed.

My invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, in Which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car platform having attached thereto a life guard or fender embodying my invention, the same being shown as in position to pick up an object from in front of the car. Fig. 2 is asimilar side view showing the fender in its raised position, that is to say, the position which it assumes when it has picked up an object. Fig. 3 isa plan view of Fig. 1, the bottom rods of the cradle being shown as broken away for the sake of clearer illustration. Fig. 4 is a plan View of Fig.2, some of the bottom rods of the cradle being shown broken away as before for the purpose of clearer illustration. Fig. 5 is a detail View of a portion of the swinging apron. Fig. 6 is a broken away detail view of the cradle; and Fig. 7 is a detail view of the clip which serves to hold the swinging apron to the car.

In the drawings, A designates a swinging cradle provided with bottom rods a Rigidly connected to this cradle or integral therewith are hangers a at. These hangers are engaged with the car by their upper ends and serve to suspend the cradle. The cradle is shown in its two positions in Figs. 1 and 2,whence it will be observed that on account of the rigid connection between the cradle and its hangers, the upper ends of the hangers which form the points of support for the cradle will constitute the center of rotation or swing of the cradle.

B is an apron which is suspended from the car by the clips 6 in which the axis 1) of the apron works freely in order that the apron may swing freely. Connected rigidly to the swinging apron B and moving therewith are arms I) which terminate in books 12 which engage with the hangers a, which suspend the swinging cradle. The apron B is provided with a cross-bar b or with pivots.

O is a hinged scoop which normally extends from the front cross-bar a of the swinging cradle and serves to pick up an object from the track.

0 o are the hangers for the scoop. These hangers suspend the scoop from the cross-bar b of the swinging apron and are each provided with an extension 0 which, in the normal position of the fender, as shown in Fig. 1, rest against the bottom of the car platform and serve to steady the scoop.

The hangers o c are joined by a front crossbar 0 upon which the scoop Oswings. Each hanger of the scoop is provided with a wing c and with an arm 0 upon which is hung a roller 0 which runs in the rails of the track and supports the fender when in its dropped position. (See Fig. 1.)

D are suitable catches or abutments carried upon the swinging cradle, preferably upon the front cross-bar thereof, which serve to hold the parts in their raised position, as shown in Fig. 2. These catches may be of various forms, but in the present instance are shown as simplelugs or projections made integral with such cross-bar. (See Fig. 6.)

The operation of my device is as follows: Supposing the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 1; the cradle A is in its retracted or horizontal position, the swinging apron B is in its upward position, and the upward edge or front cross-bar of the swinging scoop O is in close proximity to the ground, and the rear edge of the scoop is in close proximity to the forward edge of the swinging apron. In this position the weight of the fender is partially supported by the rollers which rest upon the track. We will suppose some bulky object to be in the way of the car and the car to be in motion. As the car comes up to the object which is in the way, the scoop C will strike the object, Will shove its forward end under the object, which object will roll up the inclined face of the scoop and will impinge against the forward edge of the swinging apron. The impact of the object against the swinging apron will cause the lower or forward edge of this apron to swing backward into a vertical position, and the body will fall into the cradle, and the momentum of the body will depress the rear portion of the cradle, causing the sameto swing upon its hangers to lift the front portion, such action being facilitated by the pressure of the object against the swinging apron, which, being swung on its pivot 11', causes the arms 19 to bear against the hangers.

Thus the cradle is tilted both by the impact of the body and by the weight of the body when it rests upon the cradle. As the apron B is swung backward, it serves to draw the pivoted scoop on to the cradle to lift the wheels 0 from the track, and to bring the wings 0 back into position to prevent the object from falling out of the cradle to one side or the other of the car. When the scoop has been fully drawn back by the swinging apron, the front cross-bar c of the scoop frame (0 c 0 will drop over the catches or abutments D which will securely lock the parts in their new position. This position is shown in side view in Fig. 2 and in plan in Fig. I. It will thus be quite obvious that bodies will be effectively removed from the path of the car, as the swinging scoop O hangs close enough to the track to be thrust under any ordinary object. Now while I have specifically described one form of my invention, I would have it understood that I do not mean to thereby limit myself to the form thus shown and described, as my device may be greatly varied without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a life guard for cars, the combination of a swinging cradle adapted to be swung by the weight of the body, a swinging apron adapted to be swung by the impingement of the body thereon, the said apron cooperating with the cradle to assist in swinging the same, and a scoop for guiding and conducting the body into the cradle, substantially as described.

2. In a life guard for cars, the combination of a swinging cradle adapted to be swung by the weight of the body, a swinging apron adapted to be swung by the impingement of the body thereon, the said apron being provided with arms engaging with the supports of the cradle, whereby the movement of the apron will be utilized to assist in swinging the cradle, together with a swinging scoop as 0 adapted to guide and conduct the body into the cradle, substantially as described.

3. In a life guard for cars, the combination of a swinging cradle adapted to be swung by the weight of the body, a swinging apron adapted to be swung by the impingement of the body thereon, the said apron being provided with arms engaging with the supports of the cradle, whereby the movement of the apron will be utilized to assist in swinging the cradle, with a swinging scoop as 0 adapted to guide and conduct the body into the cradle, together with means for locking the parts in the positions into which they are swung, substantially as described.

t. In a life guard for cars, the combination of a swinging cradle adapted to be swung by the weight of the body, a swinging apron adapted to be swung by the impingement of the body thereon, a swinging scoop carried in advance of the cradle and connected to the swinging apron so as to move therewith, substantially as described.

5. In a life guard for cars, the combination of a swinging cradle adapted to be swung by the weight of the body, a swinging apron adapted to be swung by the impingement of the body thereon, a swinging scoop carried in advance of the cradle and connected to the swinging apron so as to move therewith, together with catches or abutments as D D carried upon the cradle and adapted to engage with the front cross-bar of the scoop frame, substantially as described.

ALBERT EDWARD WYATT.

Witnesses:

GEO. E. MORSE, HERMAN GUsTow. 

